Lights, Camera, Super Mario Bros.?
by JDilla, GGR correspondent
The Game:
The Super Mario series follows a plumber named Mario through different worlds, various missions, and endless characters. The original Super Mario Bros. game, released in 1985, includes Mario’s brother Luigi, where they travel through the mushroom kingdom to save the princess from the main antagonist of the series, Bowser. Most of the games in the franchise follow the theme of Bowser or another villain taking something (or someone) from Mario and having to go through platform levels to rescue whatever (or whoever) it is.
The Theories:
Because of how large the franchise is and how many iterations of the Mario-verse have been released, there are countless theories that revolve around various characters and worlds. However, there is one theory that has stood the test of time and does have some merit to it. This is the theory that Mario and all of the characters are simply putting on a play. As Kanye famously said, “Hamilton, I’m gonna let you finish, but Mario had the best screenplay of all time.”
I think the most believable fact in this theory is that there is no continuity between games. For example, in some games the notorious Koopa Troopas would hurt the player, meaning they were bad guys. But in other games, such as Super Mario Advance, the Koopa Troopas don’t hurt you. This means they’re either good, or impartial to Mario. When Super Mario 64 was introduced in 1996, it received a perfect score from Edge and quickly became known as one of the greatest video games of all time. It is also the bestselling Nintendo 64 game that was ever released. The opening of the game shows that you’re being followed by…that’s right, a cameraman. This isn’t the only Mario game that shows a camera crew either. He appears in levels of Super Smash Bros. Super Mario Bros. 3 shows a curtain opening at the beginning, and the end of each level is a “side stage”. The best part is that this theory regarding Super Mario Bros. 3 got validation from Nintendo creator Miyamoto in 2015. Does this mean in the Mario-verse, Mario is actually a famous actor and we control the many episodes of his shows? Let’s not get into the simulation theory here, this is meant to be light-hearted.
Now, the most unbelievable theory (in my opinion) is that Donkey Kong Junior is responsible for the death of Mario and Luigi’s father. This theory comes from Reddit, so you know it’s gotta be a good one. This also requires some background of the Donkey Kong series. In the Donkey Kong games there’s a character named “Jumpman” who looks very similar to Mario. By similar, I mean it’s basically an exact copy of Mario. Mario and Princess Peach live in the Mushroom Kingdom, while Jumpman and Pauline live in New York City. Some people believe Mario and Jumpman are the same person, but the stories don’t add up, and we’re only looking at hard facts here. But, why do they look so similar to each other? Maybe it’s because Jumpman is actually Mario and Luigi’s father! The end of Donkey Kong Junior shows Jumpman dying, thus the theory that Donkey Kong Junior killed their father. My one qualm with this theory is that there’s never been visible bad blood between Donkey Kong and Mario (or Luigi).
The last theory here is that Princess Peach was only kidnapped one time. I mean, being kidnapped once by an overgrown turtle would be enough for me. But, if you ask most people how many times she was kidnapped, they might say dozens of times. However, following the first theory that Super Mario Bros. 3 was a play, and another theory that Super Mario Bros. 2 was a dream, then Princess Peach was only kidnapped one time in the original Super Mario Bros. This isn’t a very in-depth theory, because that’s about it. But I like theories that are based off other theories, and this is just that.
There are a lot of other theories in the Mario universe. What are your favorite theories? Do you have any theories of your own? Let us know! Next week I’ll be discussing the many theories around the 2007 video game series: Bioshock.